Poem: A Prayer to Shine Through

Margaret Moore
Jul 5th, 2020

Path outside St Winefride's Guest House, by Holywell Shrine

I must admit, God,

Sometimes it's hard

To follow You.

There are so many people sick,

So many people dying,

So many people struggling

For justice, for peace, for breath,

For life's simple needs.

Yes,

Sometimes it's hard

To seek You,

To find You,

To praise You.

Yet Sunday morning dawns,

And, though virtually,

Though unorthodoxly,

The Masses,

The worship,

The prayer

Still happen.

You created us

To be social-

To thrive

By enjoying life

Together.

Pandemics

Try

To ruin that,

Forcing

Into isolation

Indefinitely.

Yet the phone still rings,

Voice and video calls are still incoming,

And texts still arrive.

Schools,

Offices,

Public places,

And events

Face

So many

Changes

And cancellations.

So many people flood the streets,

Risking their lives,

Crying out for change.

We now live in a world that bursts

With infection,

Injustice,

Anxiety,

And fear.

It's

Everywhere,

With no end yet in sight.

Nowadays,

It's hard

To seek

And follow

You.

Yet peace and grace

Can still be found.

We traipse along

Morning, noon, and night,

Watching the Earth's finest scenery,

The dandelions,

Daffodils,

Dogwood,

And cherry blossoms

In full bloom;

The birds' chorus

Singing

Throughout the land.

And as I look up at the sky each evening,

Watching it ignite

Into incandescent shades

Of pink and gold,

Suddenly I find

You.

For, even on uncertain days,

You reveal the beauty

Of life.

You give us the hope

And the promise

Of brighter

And more beautiful

Days.

Keep reminding us

Of how

Your presence and grace

Shine through

Even the most

Trying

Of times.

For that

Is what we need

Right now.

That

Is what

All

Need

Right now.

Margaret Moore is a 2020 Magna Cum Laude graduate of Fairfield , currently beginning her Master's degree in the Fairfield University Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program. She writes: "I wrote this poem in the midst of the pandemic and the current period of US unrest surrounding the murder of George Floyd. Throughout my Catholic Jesuit education at Fairfield, I have learned about, and have been inspired by, Saint Ignatius of Loyola and his philosophies of finding God in all things and of praying an Examen prayer to detect God's presence in the positive and negative moments and trials of daily life. My poem speaks to both of these ideologies and aims to shed light on God's presence and graces during these turbulent times."